This study applies regression analysis as well as a non-parametric method to survey data from Burkina Faso to analyze the role of human capital in explaining technical efficiency in smallholder agricultural production. Exploiting the panel nature of the data and explicitly treating human capital...

The purpose of the research summarized in this paper is to provide policy-relevant knowledge on the governance of rural services in Guatemala and thus to contribute to improving the provision of services that are essential for agricultural and rural development. Based on quantitative and...

The policy of mandated representation (reservation) for disadvantaged social groups in Indian village councils or Gram Panchayats has been the subject of numerous studies. The implicit, and often unstated, assumption that underlies most of these studies is that the president of the council is...

Decentralization reforms have been the overwhelming response to failures in the targeting of public resources by the central state in developing countries. The policy debate on decentralization typically revolves around several a priori hypotheses on how the design of formal institutions of...

This 2013 Global Food Policy Report is the third in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food and nutrition security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that...

Those who study global poverty and ways to reduce it face a perennial set of questions: Do advances in knowledge, research, and technology make a real difference in the lives of poor people? What effect does research have on the poor? Who benefits? The contributors to Agricultural Research,...